The Dumping Ground Bug
by x snow-pony x
Summary: Birthday present for Linneagb. When Jody gets a bug one morning, Mike and May-Li hope that it won't spread through the whole of Ashdene Ridge. Will they be lucky? Or will everyone in the Dumping Ground get ill?


**A/N It was Linneagb's birthday two days ago, and as she wrote me a birthday present for my sixteenth birthday last November I thought I'd write one for her twentieth birthday. Happy birthday (grattis på födelsedagen) Linneagb! :-D**

 **Jody POV**

I woke up and opened my eyes. The sunlight streaming through my window was hurting my eyes, and I felt sick.

"Mike!" I called, my voice sounding hoarse, like I hadn't used it for a long time, my throat stinging as I spoke. "Mike!"

I heard someone walking past my door and then May-Li came in.

"Jody?" she asked, opening the door. "What's wrong?"

"I don't feel well," I croaked. I then coughed a few times, my throat hurting more and more with each one.

"You don't sound it either," said May-Li. She put her hand on my forehead. "You've got a temperature."

"Do I have to go to school?" I asked.

"No, of course not," said May-Li. "Mike can stay and look after you."

I nodded, but the action made me feel sick. I leant over the side of the bed, as there wasn't time to do anything else, and threw up.

"OK, Jody, it's OK," said May-Li, pulling my hair out of my face and rubbing my back. "Mike!"

A few moments later Mike ran into the room. "What's..."

He trailed off as I threw up again, and grabbed my bin, which luckily I had remembered to empty last night.

"Here you go," he said, holding it for me as I threw up again. I threw up once more and then lay back down on the bed, closing my eyes.

"You can stay at home with me today, kiddo," said Mike, gently stroking my hair.

"I'll go and get the others ready for school," said May-Li. She then got off the bed and left the room.

Mike then took her place, still stroking my hair. "Are you feeling a bit better?"

"A bit," I croaked, before I turned onto my side to try and get to sleep.

* * *

 **Normal POV**

Meanwhile in the kitchen, May-Li was talking to everyone whilst they had their breakfast.

"Jody's ill today, so I'll be taking you to school instead of Mike," she explained.

"What's wrong with her?" asked Faith.

"She's been sick, I think she's got a sore throat, and she's got a temperature," May-Li listed.

"Will she be alright?" Tyler asked anxiously.

"I think it's just a bug, so she should be fine soon," May-Li smiled.

"What, a bug like an ant or a spider?" asked Mo, his eyes wide. "Did she eat it?"

"No, no, not that kind of bug," said May-Li quickly. "I mean she's got an illness."

"Oh, OK," said Mo. He then got up, put his bowl on the side and went to get ready for school. Faith watched him, sighed and shook her head, before she went back to eating her breakfast.

* * *

 **Mike POV**

When May-Li came to see me before she left, Jody asleep in her bed whilst I stroked her hair. When I heard her come in I turned around and smiled at her.

"How's she doing?" asked May-Li.

"She's alright," I replied. "She should be back to her old self in a couple of days."

May-Li smiled. "That's good." She then began to go out of the door. "I'll take the kids to school, and then I'll go do some shopping, OK?"

I nodded. "Yeah, I'll stay here with Jody. See you later."

"See you," said May-Li, before she left to go and take everyone to school.

* * *

When May-Li had gone, I was still stroking Jody's hair when she began to wake up.

I smiled at her. "Feeling better, kiddo?"

Jody was about to answer when she put her hand over her mouth. I quickly reached for the bin and held it out. As she started retching I could feel my heart breaking, so began to run her back, at a loss as to what else to do.

"It's alright, Jody, it's alright," I said.

As soon as she had finished I put the bin down, helped her lie back on the bed, and then got up to go and wash the bin and get Jody some water. However, as soon as I began to stand up, Jody began to whimper.

"It's alright, Jody," I said. "I'm just going to wash this and get you a drink, and then I'll be straight back, OK?"

Jody whimpered again, but nodded reluctantly. I left the room, washed the bin and got her a drink before I came back.

* * *

 **Jody POV**

I didn't like it when Mike went. When I'd been ill at home, Mum hadn't looked after me properly, and had just left me for hours without any food or water, and never helped me if I was sick. I was scared that Mike wasn't going to come back for ages when he left, but I shouldn't have worried. I'd been living here long enough to know that Mike would always look after us, especially if we were I'll. As soon as he came back I stretched my hand out towards him and he took hold of it, rubbing it gently with his thumb.

"You'll be OK, Jodes," he said, smiling at me. "You'll get better soon."

"Mike?" I croaked, sitting up slightly. "Can I have a throat sweet? It really hurts."

Just then I started coughing, and I whimpered at the pain.

"Yeah, of course," said Mike. He handed me the water he'd brought. "You drink some of that and I'll be back in a second."

When he'd gone I did as he said, drinking nearly half the glass before he was back. He then handed me a throat sweet and I put it in my mouth, sucking on it.

"Your throat should feel a bit better soon," said Mike. "Do you still feel sick?"

I slowly shook my head, before I lay back down on the bed.

"Do you want me to stay or do you want me to leave you to get some rest?" asked Mike.

I held out my hand for Mike to take, and then closed my eyes. Mike took hold of my hand and kept holding it until I fell asleep...

* * *

 **Mike POV**

When Jody had fallen asleep, I heard the front door open. I went downstairs and found May-Li in the office.

"How's Jody?" she asked.

"She's OK," I replied. "She says she doesn't feel sick anymore, and she's fallen asleep. Hopefully she'll be better tomorrow."

"I just hope no one else has caught it," said May-Li worriedly. "Floss didn't look too well on the way to school."

I signed: that was all we needed. "Let's just hope that it won't spread around the whole house."

* * *

 **Normal POV**

A week later, and Ashdene Ridge was in chaos. Jody had fot got better after three days, but May-Li had been right about Floss, who also became ill. Then she passed it on to Faith, Faith to Mo, Mo to Tyler, Tyler to Harry... The list went on. Even May-Li had been ill. So far Mike was the only one who hadn't caught the bug, but he knew that it wouldn't be long before he did...

* * *

 **Mike POV**

I woke up the next morning feeling awful. My head was pounding and the light in the room made my eyes hurt. I also feel really sick. I was already at Ashdene Ridge, having spent the night there, which meant I couldn't call in sick. It also meant that I was the only one in charge of the kids.

I looked to my bedside table, located my phone and then dialled May-Li's number.

"Mike?" May-Li answered the phone after a couple of rings.

"Yeah, it's me," I croaked, before realising how ill I sounded.

"You sound awful," said May-Li. "Do you want me to come in and look after the kids?"

"Yeah, that'd be great," I said. "I'll see you soon."

"See you soon," said May-Li. "Bye."

"Bye," I said, before I hung up and put the phone back on the table. I then lay back on the bed, before I closed my eyes and fell asleep...

* * *

 **May-Li POV**

I opened the door of Ashdene Ridge and went into the kitchen, where the kids were having their breakfast.

"Where's Mike?" Jody asked through a mouthful of cereal.

"He's not well, so he asked me to come so he can stay in bed," I explained.

"We should make him a get well card," said Mo.

"Yeah, he looked after us when we were ill, so we should be nice to him while he's ill," agreed Tyler.

I smiled. "OK, well you lot finish your breakfast, and then I'll go and get the craft stuff."

* * *

An hour or so later, I knocked on the door of Mike's room.

"How are you feeling?" I asked as I saw him sit up slightly.

"Not great," he said. He groaned. "Now I know how the kids felt."

"Well, they've got something to cheer you up," I said. I gestured outside the door and one by one the kids came into the room, each carrying a get well card.

Mike smiled. "You've all made me a card? Wow, I should get ill more often."

Everyone laughed.

"Come on," I said, going towards Mike. "Group hug."

"No, because you'll catch..." began Mike.

"We've all already had the same bug," said Faith, "so it won't make much difference."

"OK," said Mike, before we all hugged each other, glad that the bug was finally coming to an end.

 **A/N So, hoped you liked it, especially Linneagb. Sorry it was a bit late, but then again this was meant for last year, so it's not that bad. XD Anyway, hope you liked it, please review, and one last HAPPY BIRTHDAY to Linneagb! :-D**


End file.
